Summary: It was whilst enjoying a successful career in the U.S., navigating a series of guest roles in high-profile television shows like Homeland, Law & Order, Blue Bloods and The Newsroom, that Fiona Choi was offered a life-changing casting at home - that of Jenny Law, the passionate matriarch of the Law family in the SBS series, The Family Law. Equals part pathos and comedy, the character has become iconic and enabled Choi a unique position in the Australian television landscape; a middle-aged woman of Chinese heritage balancing the roles of Mother and Wife. It's a universal narrative but the show is a first in its portrayal of the loving but dysfunctional Chinese-Australian family. As can be the want of show business, it seems to have taken a couple of decades for Choi to become 'an overnight sensation'. She became hooked as a performer during her secondary education, going on to become an avid member of her University theatre organisation. As a graduate of the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, her early career began in the commercial musicals Rent and Mamma Mia. An impressive theatre resume added recent forays at the Melbourne Theatre Company in The Lady in the Van and the August production of Golden Shield. Her present focus is the construction of a one-woman show celebrating Hollywood's first Chinese movie star and international style icon, Anna May Wong. The show, Dragon Lady, features Choi in an intimate performance that travels through Anna May's past and tackles her demons with scandalous reminiscences and sparkling musical numbers. Dragon Lady provokes questions about the struggles of cultural identity and the heavy price of ambition. Dragon Lady will premiere at The Adelaide Cabaret Festival in June, confirming Choi as a talent of great versatility and power. What a treat it was to sit down with Fiona to discuss Dragon Lady, The Family Law, the visibility of our Asian storytellers and Motherhood.
